NEW HAMPSHIRE CREDIT UNION LEAGUE AND MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION® OF NH KICK OFF ADOPT-AN-ANGEL CAMPAIGN Annual Fundraiser for New Hampshire Children Living with Life-threatening Illnesses

The New Hampshire Credit Union League and teh Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire kicked off their fifth annual Adopt An Angel campaign at five fire houses around the state of NH, honoring Make-A-Wish and firefighter heros. To purchase an angel visit your local NH Credit Union.

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- November 19, 2003 -- The New Hampshire Credit Union League (NHCUL) and the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire joined on Wednesday, November 19th, to kick-off the fifth annual Adopt-An-Angel campaign, which took place at fire departments in Berlin, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. Local credit union representatives joined in honoring Make-A-Wish children and local firefighters, two types of heroes who both fight life-changing challenges everyday. Fire stations were presented with symbolic angel cutouts that are sold at credit unions and schools across the state to help make wishes come true for seriously ill children. Each angel includes a profile of a child the Make-A-Wish Foundation® program serves.

This is the fifth consecutive year that the Credit Unions of New Hampshire have been the official sponsors of the Make-A-Wish Adopt-An-Angel fundraising program. The program offers the decorative angels that people can purchase for their holiday decorations. They are available at participating New Hampshire schools and credit unions for $2.00 and all proceeds go to Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire. This year, the NHCUL hopes to raise $15,000 for the campaign as part of its goal of raising $100,000, exceeding last year's total of $90,000. The angels can top Christmas trees, adorn holiday mantels or be the centerpiece for family holiday dinner tables. Each angel includes a profile of a child. Make-A-Wish serves children who are seriously ill.

During the last eight years, the New Hampshire Credit Union community's support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire has grown rapidly. According to Peter Kavalauskas, Chairman of the NHCUL Social Responsibility Committee and CEO of Northeast Credit Union in Portsmouth, the NHCUL's commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation is a product of shared ideals.

"One of the founding principles of credit unions is our focus of people helping people," said Kavalauskas. "Make-A-Wish presents a tremendous example of that philosophy in action."

"This year is very important in the history of the Make-A-Wish® campaign in New Hampshire," said Barbara Breed, executive director for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire. "This year Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire is supporting fifty children. The Adopt-An-Angel program encourages networking in local communities. The power to grant wishes rests with the community's participation."

The New Hampshire Credit Union League is a trade group which represents New Hampshire's 34 consumer-owned credit unions. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives. They offer a variety of consumer financial services to over 354,000 New Hampshire residents and over 80 million Americans. For more information, please visit www.nhcul.org.